ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – The City of Roanoke recently announced some changes to its 911 center. WDBJ7 spoke with officials to discuss the integration of new technology and how it benefits the community.
Not only will this make the work of communications officers easier, but it will also be more effective for residents in emergency situations.
Officials say this new technology will ensure faster, more accurate and more reliable responses.
“Next generation 911 moves us to more modern technology where we’re actually able to send information like photos, accident information if you’re involved in a vehicle accident, all those types of Information can be sent in addition to just voice,” said 911 system coordinator John Powers.
Powers said the city has been working for a few years to get this new technology.
He said the new system integrates geographic information system mapping with the ability to identify and route calls with unparalleled accuracy.
“The new Next Generation 9-1-1 will actually use your GPS or your latitude and longitude to route the call to determine where you are physically located, not just which cell tower you are talking to,” says- he.
Raheim Kenner, communications manager for the 911 center, said the new system will be a big help, freeing residents from having to manage waits and transfers.
“In the old system, we could not easily transfer our skills to other jurisdictions. Some location data was not as accurate. Text messaging wasn’t as fast as it is today.
And now with the update we can get better location information, texting is much easier, forward them to different jurisdictions, and we can, with a single click, forward someone to, say, Lynchburg or Radford,” Kenner said.
Powers said the move not only improves call transfers and data sharing, but also ensures the city’s emergency responders are equipped to meet the demands of a rapidly changing digital world.
“We’re looking for operational efficiency and the ability to get calls to the right place the first time without having to transfer calls because that adds processing time across the board,” Powers added. “It’s a much cleaner audio signal. It sounds better, less pop noise, all that kind of stuff. But we’re also excited about some of the things that we know this will give us the opportunity to implement in the future.
Powers said the implementation of Next Gen was a statewide initiative and the Roanoke Valley was one of the latest localities to activate its system. Many of our other hometowns are already using it.
Powers tells WDBJ7 it is funded by the state’s use of 911 tax money and the city is eager to expand with the technology.
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